Update on the Political Situation

I apologize for the delay in updating you all on the situation. We are currently in South Africa attending some leadership training conferences with AIM. However, exactly two weeks ago, before we left Madagascar, President Ravalomanana stepped down from his office, handing power of the government over to his military commanders. He did this out of concern for the Malagasy people. Within a day the opposition leader had taken control of the situation and was sworn in by the high courts as president. This action has been called a coup by the UN, the U.S., the African Union, and most recently, the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It's understandable considering his move was undemocratic but will have great effects on the economy and even moreso, the poorest of the poor in Madagascar. Much non-humanitarian aid has been withdrawn from the country and sanctions have been placed against Madagascar. The actual elected president (Ravalomanana) has left the country but is trying to regain his rightful authority in Madagascar by rallying with the international community. Over 30,000 supporters of the president have held protests and rallies in the capital, mostly peaceful though resulting in some minor injuries. It seems the tables have been turned with the opposition leader (the new president) calling for dialog with the former president as he is now struggling to keep control. It's a bit ironic since he was unwilling to cooperate while the president was still in power. We will know more when we return to Tana but wanted to fill you in on the latest so that you will know how to pray for the leaders as well as the common people of Madagascar.

Please pray for wisdom & discernment for those in power to make decisions and for helpful direction and assistance from the international community which could lead to a peaceful end and solution to the ongoing unrest.

Pray for the Malagasy as prices rise and their spirits fall with the difficulties that result from this unrest in the government.

Pray for us and other missionaries that we can be an encouragement and a light to our Malagasy friends and co-workers during this difficult time.

And please pray for unity among Malagasy Christians and within the church.

Thank you!

The Terminal

We recently watched the movie, The Terminal, which reminded us of the high security in U.S. airports. Here in Madagascar, the security is much lower. In fact, one of our favorite places to hang out on a day off is at the Ivato International Airport. It's just a 20 minute bus ride from the bus stop near our home. There is only one sit-down restaurant in the international departures and arrivals building but the view of the runway and the mountains is excellent. We like to sit there, order a big bottle of Classiko Cola (something like Coke made by the president's company), speak Malagasy with the waiters, and then watch the planes take off and land. These pictures were taken there recently. It's actually the only place in the airport where you are allowed to take pictures. Many of our co-workers find it amusing that we enjoy the airport so much, but a clear view of the runway is a thing of the past at most American airports. Even as a ticketed passenger, you often can't find a place to see clearly what is happening on the runway. But here in Madagascar, you can see it all! And, a trip to the airport is like a trip to another country. Depending on which flight is leaving that day, it might seem that you are in Europe or South Africa. The people we see in the airport are so different from the ones we see on the street and some of the foreigners are really intriguing. For example, when we went late in the evening to pick up a returning missionary, we encountered two American guys waiting for the flight to arrive. At first I was excited to hear them speaking English (we don't see many Americans) but before I had a chance to greet them, I realized they were a couple of hick southerners. One was drinking a huge bottle of Three Horses Beer (the national brew which is cheap and readily available, no laws managing the consumption of alcohol that I'm aware of) and the other had a can of Mountain Dew (which I later realized was not for drinking but for spitting because of the large wad of chewing tobacco in his mouth). They were walking around the arrivals corridor loudly joking in their southern drawl. It was one of those moments when you're not so proud to be an American! Yet it's another reason why hanging out at the airport is so fascinating!

Andasibe National Park

We recently took a weekend off to visit nearby Andasibe National Park. This is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Madagascar as it is only 3 hours from Tana and provides many opportunities to spot the famous Indri lemurs (There is a picture of one below). This is the off-season for tourism right now and because of the political situation it is even quieter than usual! It's unfortunate because their are so many Malagasy park guides without work. So they were thrilled to see us and happy to hear that we'd "survived" Tana. Some of the things they'd heard were just absurd! The other photo was taken from a small hotel restaurant in the village of Andasibe (about 3 km from the park). We spent some time in the village where we discovered delicious fried bananas and other fried cakes for a cheap breakfast on the run! Yeah, not so healthy but really tasty... In the photo, you'll notice the clothes hanging out to dry on the wooden fence. This seemed to be the trend around town so I had to capture a photo since it's not like that in the city. Here, they lay their clothes on grassy hillsides or rocks along the rivers or hang them on a clothesline.

Miandry Faty - Waiting on the Dead

Over the last weekend, one of our elderly neighbors passed away (we’d never met him). The family is very poor and lives in a thatch-roofed hut just down the hill from us. People started arriving in the afternoon and stayed all night. They moved the body outside since the house is so small and began the miandry faty or “waiting on the dead." The ceremony stems from the idea that if you leave the dead body alone the witches will come and evoke bad spirits. Yet the families cannot afford to keep the corpse at a morgue.

A couple of the men came up to our house to ask a favor. I was afraid they would want to use our house to display the body, but thankfully they just asked to use our electricity (they have none) by running a long extension cord up to our house so that people would be able to see the corpse. The cord wasn’t wired correctly so after numerous tries our night guard eventually got it to work. He kept joking that they didn’t know anything about electricity though I must admit I found it pretty funny that they had purchased a light bulb and extension cord not having electricity themselves. They began singing sad, mourning songs around the corpse at about 9 p.m. and didn’t stop until almost 5 a.m. Needless to say, we didn’t get much sleep, but it was fascinating to hear some of their cultural funeral practice. To add to the excitement in the neighborhood, a drunken fight broke out near our house, interrupting the ceremony and keeping our guard entertained. In the morning, before we were up and about, they embalmed the body and placed it in a simple wooden coffin with red flowers decorating the top (pictures below). When we began watching again, they were waiting for the car to arrive to take the corpse to the countryside to be buried. Later we learned that we could have gone to visit, even though we’d never met the man, as it is common practice for neighbors to pay their respects. However, as foreigners, we weren’t sure what to do. They won’t take offense because we are foreigners but next time we will eagerly attend to learn more about the Malagasy practice of caring for the dead.

Q: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

A: To get to the bus stop so he could board the taxi-be.

On Saturday we were riding the local taxi-be (bus). When we stopped at a bus stop, I got up to move seats. That's when I heard a loud squawk in the seat next me. I looked over and noticed a chicken nestled between the legs of his owner. There was a woman and a child seated next to the man but neither seemed to notice the chicken. Having poultry on the bus is just part of everyday life in Madagascar. Someone was going to have a nice dinner but first he had to carry him home. I wonder if there is bus fare for chickens...

The Political Saga Continues

Today Madagascar still has two presidents: the real one and the "wanna-be." There are now two militaries as well. Yet it seems the majority of the people are still behind the elected-president, Marc Ravalomanana. However, the opposition leader and former-mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, refuses to end his battle to overthrow the president. So the gatherings continue as does the watching and waiting. Saturday the buses were not running into the city. On Sunday, we rode the bus and went to church in the city. Today, the buses are still running, a rally was held, and the looting has started again because some of the military, tired of accusations that they were "fighting the people" decided to stay at base camp. What will tomorrow hold? Only God knows. Is the end in sight? It's difficult to tell. So we watch and wait...and pray.